Game Twenty-nine: Columbus Blue Jackets (12-14-5) at Tampa Bay Lightning (16-10-2)
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa
TV/Stream/Radio: FDSNSUN, FDSNOH, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App
Odds: Lightning -258
Alright, back to business at home. The Tampa Bay Lightning went out west, won three out of four games, allowed just eight goals, claimed the top spot on the wild card race, and boosted their points percentage to .607 (which is higher than third-place Boston’s). That’s not a bad road trip at all. Oh year, they did all of that while managing injuries to Erik Cernak, J.J. Moser, Victor Hedman, and Anthony Cirelli.
There was a large stack of excuses ready for them to use if they had faltered on this trip, but instead, they went out and won the games they needed to win. Now they are back home, slightly rested after an off-day on Monday, and hosting a team that they would like to beat in order to erase the memories of their previous match-up. You know which game we’re talking about, the one where the Lightning were cruising with a 3-0 lead and then somehow were on the wrong end of a 7-6 overtime final. Weird things happen when they play Columbus.
Since that loss, the Lightning have found a bit of a defensive groove while their offense has continued to chug along. Lost in all of the recent injury talk, Tampa Bay has climbed to the top of the offensive charts as they are averaging 4.00 goals per game on the season. A potent 5v5 scoring attack (3.15 GF/60, 2nd in the NHL) and a rejuvenated power play (28.2%, 3rd in the NHL) have provided more than enough goals to offset the 2.89 goals against that they are allowing on the season.
Leading the way over the last 10 games have been their best players. Brayden Point is on one of the biggest heaters of his career as he’s racked up 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists) during this current stretch. Nikita Kucherov is right there with him (as usual) with 3 goals and 14 assists in 9 games. Jake Guentzel is showing that he isn’t just a 5v5 goal-machine as he has 5 even-strength goals and 5 power-play goals in his last 10.
While the best players are being the best players, the Bolts are getting offensive help from just about everywhere. Cameron Atkinson, Luke Glendening, and Conor Geekie all have 3 points while Nick Perbix and Darren Raddysh have 4 points each. Anthony Cirelli (8 points in 9 games) and Brandon Hagel (16 points in 10 games) are validating their selections to Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Thanks to the injuries, it still doesn’t feel like this team is operating at it’s full potential, but it has been a complete team effort as teammates have raised their play in the absence of key personnel. They are definitely feeding off of each other during this stretch and piling up points.
They kick off a three-game homestand against a Columbus team that has spiraled in the opposite direction since their big come-from-behind win against the Bolts. That victory came in the middle of a 5-0-1 stretch that jumped them over .500 for the first time in a month. Since then it’s come crashing down as they’ve gone 1-5-2 to plummet down to the bottom of the Metro Division.
While their offense hasn’t been much to write home about during their lull, it’s been the defense that has struggled more. They’ve allowed 3.75 goals per game while killing off only 69.6% off the penalties against them. Teams are getting over 13 high-danger chances per game against them and over 63 shot attempts per 60 minutes at 5v5.
They felt that there were some positive strides in their last outing, a 4-1 loss to Carolina, but a loss is still a loss and moral victories don’t help a team in the standings. Sean Monahan (14 points in 16 games) and Kirill Marchenko (13 points in 13 games) are going to be asked to carry the offensive load tonight, but their focus needs to be on containing a Lightning offense that is in it’s groove and looking for a little payback.
Potential Lines:
Tampa Bay Lightning
Forwards:
Jake Guentzel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Conor Geekie
Gage Goncalves – Nick Paul – Mitchell Chaffee
Zemgus Girgensons – Luke Glendening – Mikey Eyssimont
Defense:
Victor Hedman (?) – Darren Raddysh
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg – Nick Perbix
Goaltender:
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Columbus Blue Jackets
Forwards:
Dmitri Voronkov – Sean Monahan – Kirill Marchenko
James van Riemsdyk – Adam Fantilli – Kent Johnson
Zach Aston-Reese – Cole Sillinger – Mathieu Olivier
Mikael Pyyhtia – Sean Kuraly – Kevin Labanc
Defense:
Zach Werenski – Dante Fabbro
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Jack Johnson (?) – Jake Christiansen
Goaltenders:
Elvis Merzlikins
Jet Greaves
